As mobile and personal electronic devices power requirements increase, the problems associated with supplying power to the devices have been solved by balancing multiple current phases switched out-of-phase in order to provide the required load current. One factor influencing the success of multi-phase converters is the ability to balance the load current between phases. Without current balancing, one of the phases will carry more current than the others, potentially resulting in thermal and system overload problems.
Typically, traditional pulse width modulated (PWM) current mode converters are used as a balancing solution for various applications. Constant on-time converters have also been used, for example in notebook applications because they typically provide better transient response than traditional PWM converters, resulting in smaller, more economical systems for the customer. However, constant on-time converters typically require complex algorithms and calculations to be programmed by a designer its intended application.